Customer Reviews

Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ (New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology)

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I purchased this book with great skepticism. I assumed that the book would be nothing more than a book defending the Southern Baptist position on baptism namely that believer's alone should be baptized (which I agree with by the way) but would not interact much with those who disagree except in passing. This is not the case with this book.

BELIEVER'S BAPTISM does a good job of first of all laying a solid biblical and theological foundation for believer's baptism and then does a good job of defending it against those who would disagree from both contemporary and from historical theologians who argue for infant baptism. Furthermore, the book allows a few chapters to be given for presenting arguments for infant baptism and for the Restoration movement view that baptism is essential for salvation. The book does not present baptism merely as a token Christian memorial but a very important biblical topic.

The chapters are not very long and the book can be easily read in just a couple of hours. While there are some theological terms thrown here and there, overall the book is an easy read and the plus is that it is full of Scripture. Overall I enjoyed this book and gladly recommend it to you all to study.

Another reviewer said this book can be read in 2 hours!!! I read academic books all the time and that reviewer must be an amazing speed reader. I have really been edified by this book. It explains the various views of baptism very fairly. I am not a Baptist but do believe in believers baptism. This book confirmed me in my view of Baptism and completely eliminated any intimitation of other views. The various scholars deal respectfully with all views of baptism throughout church history and then contrast them with good biblical exegesis. I doubt if many will be able to read the book in two hours - or even some of the chapters in two hours - but this will be a forever resourse on the subject of believers baptism.

This book is great in the face of diverse understandings concerning the doctrine of baptism. The book deals with historical writings and Covenantal Paedo baptist theology. It discusses the historical theologies of the Early Church Fathers and the arguments during the time of the Luther, Zwingli, and the Anabaptists. Another thing it discusses with clarity is the continuity / discontinuity issues between the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant. The book is very gracious to all believers in Christ proclaiming our unity in the body of Christ. It also lifts baptism to a higher level than just an ordinance by claiming it is also a means of grace.

This is a well-written study of baptism, but it does not succeed in disproving infant baptism. The spirit in which it is written is very Christ-like. It focuses largely on the covenantal theology of Reformed and Presbyterian churches. In the end it fails to show that the Abrahamic covenant ended at the cross. This is a very important consideration. The concept of baptism being the sign of the NEW covenant of Jeremiah 31, although consistent with Baptist theology, is essentially unfounded. [...]

This is a marvelous study of the subject of baptism written for the pew member, the scholar, and everyone in between. It is written by Baptists for Baptists to encourage a return among the Baptist people to a biblical position on the purpose and result of baptism, namely, that baptism brings the forgiveness of sins to those who submit to it in faithful obedience to the gospel message.

I hope this book finds a wide circulation among its intended audience and others who sincerely desire to know what the Bible teaches on this vital subject.

I am a student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and I normally admire the level of scholarship that happens here (this book was written in part by SBTS professors), especially in the area of theology. I was also raised as a Southern Baptist and I believe that believer's baptism (credobaptism) is the most likely depiction of what the Scriptures intended, so I bought this book fully anticipating what is stated on the back cover: "destined to be a classic," "scholarly, ... without demeaning those with whom they disagree," "unquestionably the best volume on a theology of baptism," etc. To be sure, the authors are respected theologians who are well equipped to handle the subject, and they cite many other important works during their discussion. The first few chapters form a logical, systematic review of every instance of baptism in the NT (these are the best chapters of the book and the most useful). They also give a great deal of space to discussing and responding to reformed/covenantal paedobaptism, though always in view of how it disagrees with the credobaptist view.

Unfortunately, even in light of my respect for the seminary and my appreciation for believer's baptism, I don't think the book is worthy of its hype. The biggest problem is that it seems biased and even pretentious at times, even in spite of the authors' stated intentions to the contrary. Obviously, the cover presents the book as a case for believer's baptism, which is exactly what I was looking to buy. However, rather than presenting an unbiased, scientific examination of the Scriptures and historical evidence and then deciding upon the evidence that credobaptism is the most appropriate interpretation, the authors often fall into the trap of reading their strong convictions into their argument. I was dismayed at the number of times the authors precede their citations with words like "(this author) wrongly states," "rightly claims," "correctly asserts," etc., which demonstrates that the authors present their position as the one by which all others should be judged. No one can fault them for having strong convictions on a subject, or stating a case and defending it, but their methods leave much to be desired, and this type of writing is simply inappropriate for a scholarly work. This is not an analytical, biblical theology of baptism which culminates in a case for credobaptism nearly as much as it is a pointed response to those with whom they disagree.

Aside from the clear credobaptism vs. reformed paedobaptism sparring that permeates the book, it also lacks depth in a few areas. Its discussion of some confusing and oft-disputed passages (such as I Cor. 15:29, baptism on behalf of the dead) is very brief. In all fairness, the author clearly states that he has no intent of canvassing the various views on the passage and directs readers to another book, but his reason is that he doesn't believe it changes "the view argued for in this essay" (credobaptism). I guess this goes back to my argument in the previous paragraph that the authors tend to use the Scriptures to defend their pre-determined belief, but I also mention it to point out that the book can't be a "classic" or "the best volume" if it defers its toughest interpretations to other books. In many respects, this book is not nearly as thorough as other books on the subject.

All of the above is to say this: if a person is seeking a strong defense for credobaptism, then this book is a good tool. In fact, this review might not have been so harsh if the book had been clearly labeled "a defense against paedobaptism" on the front cover. However, if a person is seeking an honest, open, unbiased, thorough review of the evidence (which may or may not lead to a particular view), this book will not fit the bill, as its better parts (and there are good parts) are muddied by a sense of condescension.

As R. Martin pointed out the authors deal with the foundational arguments made by our paedobaptist brethren and this, as you can see, has ruffled a few feathers. If you are interested in a Patristic work that narrows in on what the early church actually taught I would suggestion Baptism in the Early Church by Stander and Louw. This is another title paedobaptists have come to dislike because it's written by two paedo's who have come to the conclusion that credobaptism was the practice of the early church.

The book "Believer's Baptism" is tremendous study on the subject of baptism. It has 10 chapters written by famous Baptist theologians. The purpose of this books is to show that believer's baptism is the true biblical and historical baptism. The book discusses baptism in the Gospels, Acts, NT epistles, patristic writings. Also other chapters touch the baptismal doctrine of Anabaptists and Stone-Campbell restoration movement. The chapter by Mark Dever is very good and practical. The book interacts graciuosly with Reformed theology on infant baptism. If you want a good collection on the issue of baptism buy this book and Paul K. Jewett "Infant Baptism & the Covenant of Grace".

What is the biblical case for believer's baptism? What biblical support do paedobaptists point to for their belief in infant baptism? What is the relationship between the old and new covenants? What did Alexander Campbell, one of the first voices of the Restoration movement, actually think about baptism?

These questions and more are answered splendidly in Believer's Baptism: Sign of hte New Covenant in Christ. A host of well-known Baptist scholars have collaborated to provide a resource for all who seek to better understand the biblical underpinnings for believer's baptism.

The book begins with three important New Testament scholars mapping out the New Testament teaching on baptism. Andreas Kostenberger writes about baptism in the Gospels; Robert Stein describes baptism in Luke and Acts; Tom Schreiner treats baptism in the epistles. Throughout the summary chapters, the authors maintain a steadfast commitment to taking the text seriously and demonstrate a willingness to question popular assumptions about believer's baptism.

Steve Wellum writes a chapter on baptism and the relationship between the covenants that is well worth the price of the book. The force of the paedobaptist argument comes from a misunderstanding of the nature of the two covenants. Wellum persuasively argues against infant baptism and shows how the practice stems from a misinterpretation of the different covenants.

Steven McKinion shows that infant baptism was not accepted as commonly and widespread in the early church as has been assumed. Archeological evidence shows that most early baptisms were by immersion. Many of the church fathers argue against infant baptism. Others argue for it, demonstrating that the issue was debated, not settled in the first few centuries. This chapter takes away one of the main arguments of paedobaptists for infant baptism: the historical practice.

Shawn Wright tackles the logic of Reformed paedobaptists and pokes holes in the Reformational view, showing how Zwingli's divorcing of faith from baptism was an innovation, never believed by anyone before that period in history. A.B. Caneday offers a helpful summary of the Stone-Campbell doctrine of baptism. The churches of Christ and the Christian Church are less united on baptism than one might think. Finally, Mark Dever ends the book with helpful suggestions on practicing baptism in the local church.

There are times when the authors disagree with each other (appropriate age, immediate baptism, etc.), but each writer seeks to filter his understanding of baptism through a rigorous study of Scripture. Believer's Baptism is one of the most important books on the subject to come out in recent years. It belongs on every pastor's library shelf.

Overall this is an interesting book, but misses the mark. The chapter on Paul's doctrine of baptism was excellent, and I appreciate the honesty in letting difficult texts speak without embarassment (Gal 3, Rom 6). That is, not making baptism passages talk about something other than water, which is exactly what the NT church would have understood them to say.

The oft-repeated argument that children are not mentioned among the baptized is legitimate and weighty, but in a decent-sized tome like this, one expects interraction with other arguments as well. For instance, the Old Testament speaks of inter-generational dealings between God and man. Isaiah, Jeremiah and the Psalms are filled with such references. The argument that paedo-baptists come with is, What happened to the children? Where did these promises go? Baptists are looking at the NT and saying, "Where are the children?" Paedo-baptists are looking at the NT and saying, "Where are children dismissed?" Unless you're a dispensationalist, you would expect a sort of basic continuity between the Old Covenant and the New in how God deals with families. This is not really addressed in the book.

Moreover, Mark Devers' chapter on when to baptize is a travesty. He argues that mid to late teens is an appropriate time. It seems to me that children are pretty much grown up by that point, and so you are saying, in effect, that church membership, communion, church discipline, pastoral oversight, are adult matters. To his credit, Devers doesn't say there should be an age limit, but seems to prefer a case by case basis approach. Nevertheless, he suggests that the time to drive is also an appropriate time to take responsibility in church matters. For a pastor whose ministry has been instrumental in restoring the value of church membership, not merely for spiritual "health," but for one's very salvation, it seems rather out of place for him to minimize the value of membership for young professors. Communion, discipline, pastoral oversight--apparently these are adult matters, and unnecessary for one's spiritual development and maturity.